1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring harness used in automobiles, and a device for protecting the wiring harness. More specifically, the invention concerns a corrugated tube, through which the wiring harness passes and is protected thereby. Such a corrugated tube may have a longitudinal slit along the axial direction. In this construction, the tube is first opened along the slit, a group of electrical wires is loaded through the opening, and the opening is closed. The invention also relates to a device for inserting a group of electrical wires into the corrugated tube, which can create a longitudinal slit in the corrugated tube, insert the group of wires therein, and close and lock the tube at the slit.
2. Description of Background Information
In the prior art wiring harness used in automobiles, the main portion of the harness is placed within a corrugated tube for protection. As shown in FIG. 1A, a corrugated tube 1-1 can have a longitudinal slit S along the axial direction; as shown in FIG. 1C, the slit portion can have an overlapping zone R in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 1B, a corrugated tube 1-2 may be uniform (i.e., no slit).
In the case of the corrugated tube 1-2 without a slit, a connector housing (not shown) to be mounted on an end portion cannot pass through the corrugated tube 1-2. Therefore, the electrical wires must first be inserted through the corrugated tube 1-2, whereupon the connector housing is then mounted on the end portion of the wires as a final step. A such, the end portion of each electrical wire cannot be loaded into the connector housing by an automatic process. This prevents automating the mounting process of the wiring harness.
For the corrugated tube 1-1 with a slits, the group of electrical wires are loaded simply by opening the tube at the slit. The connector housing can thus be connected to the group of electrical wires beforehand. Accordingly, the end portion can be inserted into the connector housing by automation. However, when the corrugated tube 1-1 is bent as shown in FIG. 2, the slit S may open. It is therefore necessary to seal the slit after the electrical wires are inserted into the tube. To this end, tape can be wound around the outer circular surface of the tube 1-1. However, this tape-winding step is cumbersome, increasing manufacturing time and costs. This step is also necessary for the corrugated tube 1-2 with an overlapping slit shown in FIG. 1C.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a prior art device 3 inserts the electrical wires into the abovementioned tubes 1-1 or 1-3 with a slits. The electrical wires W are inserted initially through the device 3. Device 3 opens slit 11 and installs wires W into the corrugated tube 1 as device 3 moves down the length of the tube. In this construction, the connector housing C can be connected beforehand to the wire end portion.
However, device 3 only serves to pass the wires W into the corrugated tube, and does not otherwise obviate the need for tape.